


Talk Like the Rain

by WildcatPacer



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 08:18:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12317259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildcatPacer/pseuds/WildcatPacer
Summary: Another romance between Katniss Everdeen and a certain Peacekeeper. Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Lotta People Try to Grab Me**

It's another busy day in the Hob. I am weaving through the crowd in my blue Reaping dress that is a hand-me-down from my mother's. My normal hunting wear is in the laundry, and I won't get it back until tomorrow.

I finish my standard sale with Greasy Sae, and am just turning to leave when a Peacekeeper blocks my way. "And where's a pretty little thing like you going in such a hurry?"

I gulp. "Move aside, please. I have to get home."

"Not until we have a little fun," the Peacekeeper grins. He puts his arms around my waist and forcibly kisses me. His hands wander as he audaciously grabs my butt through my skirt.

"Mmmm!" I squeal, trying to push him away.

"Give someone else a chance!" a Seam miner calls, and I feel him come up behind me, trapping me between the two men. Hands grab and squeeze my breasts. I try to elbow the guy in the stomach, but my arms are pinned to my side by the Peacekeeper's embrace.

I wish I could say this is an extraordinary occurrence, but it isn't. I may only be 16 years old, but apparently I am one of the most beautiful women in District 12. Many men have lusted after me, or made a pass at me, or sexually harassed me. All in vain, because I would never allow myself to be seduced that way. I will never marry, or sleep with any man. Never!

Suddenly, both sets of groping hands are torn away, and I hear scuffling and shouts. I quickly touch myself, even though my clothes have not really been disturbed, as if that will cleanse me of the groping that has just occurred. Meanwhile, I see a flash of red hair and blue eyes throwing punches that send the miner and Peacekeeper running. Darius Pontipee, a kindly Peacekeeper whom I have befriended in recent years and always pays me handsomely for my kills.

"Let's go," he tells me, and he leads me by the hand past the gawking onlookers out of the Hob and back into town. Thank goodness he showed up when he did. I was going to head to his place to make a trade, anyway. I used to do that with his father, who often bought my squirrels.

"I'm fine, Darius, really," I try to shrug it off, a little ashamed that he caught me in such a compromising position.

"He should not have been grabbing at you like that, Katniss," and I am surprised to hear Darius's voice shake with rage. "Neither of them!"

"A lot of people try to grab me!" I shrug off, adjusting the shoulder of my dress.

"It's still wrong! No woman should be touched like that, least of all you! You should be treated like a queen, like your body is a piece of glass or 14-karat gold!" Peeta passionately says.

I blink in amazement. "Wow, Darius. That was really sweet."

We make our trade for squirrels. Darius offers to escort me home, just in case, but I turn down his kind offer. I encounter no other men as I walk home to the Seam.


	2. Meat for Kisses

**Chapter 2: Meat for Kisses**

The snow flurries swirl around me as I head up to the Hob. Underneath my coat, I wear the old blue dress from my mother's Merchant days.

I have never been one for parties, but my mother encouraged me to go out. Well, ordered might be a better word. Even though I'm only sixteen, my mother is forcing me to find a husband and marry. At least who it is will be left to my choice. Arranged marriages are common in District 12. I doubt anyone would want to be a suitor to me, though.

Upon entering the Hob, I spy Gale over at Ripper's bar and take a seat beside him. After small talk and a round or two of shots, we are joined by a certain ginger-haired fellow.

"Hello, Katniss," he smiles a million-watt grin.

"Hello, Darius," I smile politely at the unusually friendly Peacekeeper.

Upon my salutation, Darius buys me an unsolicited drink and engages me in conversation. The young Peacekeeper is known to be something of a flirt in our town - a trait that resurfaces when he ponders, "Now what might be a fair trade for a free shot of whiskey?"

I shake my head with a smile. "I can't even imagine."

"How about a kiss?" He leans in close to me and grins.

I let out a bark of laughter and playfully shove him away. "No, thanks."

"Why not? I tell you, Katniss, my kisses are the most sought-after in the District!"

This gets my attention and I smirk. "Oh yeah? With who?"

Darius points out women to me. "Why, the flower seller with the green muffler. Oh, and the milkman's wife! I have plenty of references in these parts."

Gale begins to hoot with laughter as he rises and pays for his drink. "Keep talking, Darius! You'll never get a peck outta her!" And he heads off to dance with Madge Undersee, the Mayor's daughter.


	3. How About that Kiss?

**Chapter 3: How About That Kiss?**

I stand in the mirror, observing myself in my blue Reaping dress, a relic from my mother's Merchant days. Mother stands behind me and nods with simple satisfaction. "Now, you look beautiful, too."

"I wish I looked like you," Prim says.

"Oh no! I wish I looked like you, little duck!"

My family and I head for the square. Today is the Reaping for the 74th Annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death between twenty-four tributes from the 12 districts of Panem until there is only one left to be a Victor and mentor future tributes.

As I am sorted into the 16-year-olds, I see Darius off to the side. I wonder if he has been assigned to set up a perimeter and make sure that everyone has attended. Missing the Reaping is punishable by death.

Mayor Undersee recites the Dark Days speech. Then he lists the names of past District 12 Victors: two measy names in 73 years.

"The Victor of the 16th Hunger Games: Cassiope Fletch!" I only know that she died just after I was born. But she is legendary. Rumors to this day persist that she broke the Victor's Code - a rule that forbids attachment from Victors - and married. Toasted the bread. And not just with anybody. A Peacekeeper!

"The Victor of the 50th Hunger Games, or Second Quarter Quell: Haymitch Abernathy!" Unfortunately, Haymitch is still very much alive, and a drunk besides. He falls off the stage trying to wave to the crowd.

Effie Trinket, our district escort from the Capitol now takes the stage and pulls from the Girls' Reaping Ball.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

* * *

I am Reaped for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. I volunteer to save my sister, Primrose. Peeta Mellark, the Baker's son, is chosen to go in with me.

After my family says goodbye, I don't expect any more visitors. So I am shocked when the door opens to reveal Darius. I think he has come to take me to the train, but he merely closes the door behind him instead.

"I thought you would be on duty," I say.

"I'm not," he tells me. "I wanted to say goodbye to you." He runs my arm soothingly, along the fabric of my mother's old blue dress. "You have to win, Katniss. I wish both you and Gale could come back."

I am surprised. I could never explain it, but I always thought Darius was jealous of Gale, for some reason.

I think back to that request for a kiss at the New Years' Eve party, and I chuckle. "How about that kiss right about now?"

It's meant as a joke, so my breath catches in my throat when Darius's palms are suddenly about my cheeks, rubbing circles along the skin there. I gulp, and my eyes suddenly grow very heavy.

I once vowed to never marry, to never have children. And I certainly vowed to never kiss a man, or let a man kiss me. And certainly not someone affiliated with the Capitol! But as Darius draws closer, I can feel the heat between us, can feel my eyes grow heavy, and I actually am anxious to have, actually want, his lips... on... mine...

He doesn't get there. Footsteps approach and he draws back before we can come together. A colleague of his opens the door, and Darius takes the liberty to escort me to the train, as I now feel in danger of falling down. But before I board, he gives my hand a comforting squeeze .

Smiling sadly, I squeeze his hand back.


	4. Runner-Up

**Chapter 4: Runner-Up**

There are only three of us left in the arena. Peeta Mellark and I are hidden away in a cave. Waiting for Cato, the last Career from District 2, to come find us. Both my district partner and I could drop dead right now and place with medals for our district - a feat that has not happened since Haymitch Abernathy himself won.

Except that Peeta is fading fast, from blood poisoning created by a sword wound.

"Don't die, Peeta! Please don't die!" If he can just outlast Cato, District 12 will be guaranteed a Victor for the first time in almost a quarter-century.

But the boy who has confessed his love for me has lost the will to fight. "Katniss... find Cato... beat him... I love you."

And even though I did not love him back at first, this boy whom I have come to pity, whom I have come to love in return (in my own little way), tugs at my heartstrings. My eyes filled with tender sadness and determination, I bend over him and kiss him full on the mouth. My first kiss. Peeta deserves that claim, in his final moments. After a long moment, we break apart. Peeta is beaming, happy that he can die with the taste of my lips on his.

"I love you, Katniss..." And he fades away. I weep bitterly, even after the cannon sounds.

Steeling my nerves, I leave our cave hideaway and go to face Cato. I finally come upon him in the trees, yet he does not see me. Hiding behind some rocks, I string an arrow and let it fly. Right into his neck. The blonde boy doesn't even know what hit him. He falls, there is one more cannon, and Templesmith announces my victory:

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winner of the 74th Annual Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen!"


	5. Patrol Stops

**Chapter 5: Patrol Stops**

I go through the motions in my final interview with Caesar Flickerman, and having the Victory Crown placed on my head. The moment I get home to District 12, I shut myself up in my new room in my mansion in Victor's Village.

I wallow in an extreme version of survivor's guilt, mourning a boy whom I barely knew, and yet was in love with me from the time we were small children. I think about the man Peeta could have become. Would he have proposed to me one day, if the arena had not destroyed our lives? Would I have said yes to such a proposal?

Neither Mother nor Prim can do anything to coax me out of my room. The only thing I accept from them is the plates of meals they leave by my door three times a day.

Finally, one afternoon, as I am watching the shadows grow longer against the walls in anticipation of the coming evening, I hear a knock at my door. Then voices behind it:

"Maybe I can try, Mrs. Everdeen..."

"Don't expect to much, Darius; she hasn't even acknowledged Primrose or me..." Mother admonishes.

"Katniss! Open up! It's Darius!"

For a moment, I fear I am in trouble with him and his Peacekeeper brethren, which might be the only thing that behooves me to open my door to someone for the first time in weeks.

Darius enters as soon as the door gives way under my turning of the knob, and I shrink back to let him in. Even though his red hair hangs long over his brow, he can still see that my eyes are red and puffy from days and days of crying. Wordlessly, I turn back to my bed and sit on the floor against it. Darius makes no move to speak as he quietly joins me. We just sit in the silence, appreciating each other's company even if we do not acknowledge it. Finally, I speak up, my voice hoarse from lack of use:

"I see his face... every night when I try to go to sleep... Peeta's... It should have been me, Darius!" I collapse into sobs against him, and uncharacteristically do not even bristle when he holds me quietly in his arms.


	6. Teaching the Deputy to Hunt

**Chapter 6: Teaching the Deputy to Hunt**

It is a few weeks before I see Darius again. This time, it is in the woods. One morning, I arrive after him to find Darius literally struggling with how to hold a crudely crafted bow as he fits a even more-crudely crafted arrow to it. When he accidentally lets go of the string and shoots a hole in his pack, I cannot help but laugh. I keep the smile on my face as I saunter over to him.

"Having trouble?"

Darius glances back and shoots me an optimistic grimace. "Oh, I'll get it right. But it may take a while."

I pace around him to get a good look at his bow. It's of average make, really, though clearly homemade. Still, I feel the need to inquire, "Did you make this?"

He grins sheepishly. "Horrible, isn't it? I didn't know what else to do. The fish have barely been biting, and I certainly couldn't afford a professional bow in town."

I shake my head. "It's not horrible. For a novice, it's actually a great first effort. It took my father years to perfect his bow-crafting technique."

Darius tries to lift the bow and straighten it. "You learned all your mad skills from him then, huh?"

I would answer him, if I didn't see how terribly off his stance is. The teacher in me prompts, "Feet shoulder-width apart."

Darius glances at me and obeys. "Now straighten that back." When he doesn't catch my meaning, I press my hand into the small of his back. I feel his skin tingle where my hand rests. I quickly move on.

"Tighten you stomach muscles. The most important thing a hunter needs to control is breathing." I have no choice but to demonstrate as I place my hands on either side of his diaphragm. I feel awkward. I've never been in physical contact like this with anyone other than Peeta. I focus on the man in front of me, trying to keep my voice and body language as casual as possible.

"Relax your shoulders and bring your bow arm down. Your body should be entirely streamlined." This time, Darius needs no prompting from me. I check his bow hand.

"Grip is actually good. Now, breathe in deeply, and release the arrow on the exhale," I tell him.

WHOOSH! The arrow flies and hits a tree dead-on. I smile at Darius.

"Very good! Even Peeta's first shot wasn't as good as that." Besides the fact that this statement is true, I find myself sincere in my approval. I taught Peeta to hunt during the Games.

However, my voice trails off when I realize how close his face is to mine.

Darius smiles back, his voice soft. "So, who's your better pupil: the baker's son or the poor Peacekeeper?"

My breathing becomes ragged. My heart is pounding in my chest; I can hear it beating in my ears. "You..." I whisper, even though I completely forget what he asked me. I barely register how my arms have wrapped themselves around his waist from behind. Darius's face inches closer. My eyes flutter, drooping until they are almost shut. My brain is screaming at me a reminder that I have never wanted this, and that we should stop now before... we... kiss...

Before our lips can touch, I tear myself away. The spell is broken, and I awkwardly clear my throat.

"It's late. I... I have to go. I better go!" Without even bidding him goodbye, I gather my game bag and turn tail for the fence and my home beyond. For the first time in my hunting career, I return home empty-handed.

* * *

Darius and I soon fall into a routine of hunting together almost every day. On one particular morning, I find myself asking him something I have never asked him before. Something I really should have known long before this:

"So, were you born in District 12?"

"I was," Darius smiles. "My father before me was a Peacekeeper here, and also born and raised in Twelve. It is actually a pretty unique story."

"Why?" I ask, intrigued .

"Most Peacekeepers either come from District 2 or the Capitol itself. They are trained in special academies there from a very young age. The exception, of course, is if you are a district resident and you want to enlist. They put the common people, as they are known, through a very strict training regiment to become a Peacekeeper. Few residents of a district pass the Peacekeeper Trials. My father was one of them."

I find this fascinating. "And you."

"Well, that was because I was handling some of his smaller weapons by the time I could toddle. His policy was firm, but fair. Kind of a mix of Cray and Thread, if you will," referencing our two Peacekeeper leaders. "And often my stepmother, Cassiope Fletch…."

I stop dead. "Hang on! You mean to tell me that Cassiope Fletch married your father?" Cassiope Fletch was District 12's very first Victor and only woman to win from here. Victor of the 16th Hunger Games.

Darius nods. "They married in secret. Peacekeepers are technically not allowed to have families. It's not an official rule, but it is highly discouraged. Most Peacekeepers just accept it as a prohibition, but my father broke this and married anyway."

I grow quiet. "What happened to your father?" I ask.

I shouldn't have probed. His eyes grow sad. "He was murdered. Insubordination, they said. It was not until many years later that I would understand just what his insubordination entailed."

Despite the fact that I probably know why Darius's father was killed, I do not press the matter with the young man further. We finish our hunt, and we part ways at the fence. "See you in the Seam on patrol tonight!" Darius calls.

I find myself staring wistfully back at him as he runs off. At least Darius is a kindred spirit, as he stayed single like me. But I wonder why he couldn't have married. He is a kind person, and that's not something you can say really about any Peacekeeper.


	7. Reaped Again

**Chapter 7: Reaped Again**

I am Reaped once more for the 75th Hunger Games, or Third Quarter Quell. The twist this year is that former Victors must return to the arena. So I have to go back in with Haymitch Abernathy, the winner of the last Quell. We are the only two Victors of District 12 left alive, out of three total, barely fulfilling the twist.

After we are Reaped, Darius actually accompanies us onto the train, as he has been assigned to our guard detail. We sit and talk throughout most of the ride to the Capitol, and he does his best to console me.

Haymitch and I go through the motions in Training, which still somehow nets us both perfect and unheard of scores of 12. We join the other Victors in subtly criticizing the Quell at the interviews, turning Caesar's moment into a total farce. The icing on the cake is when all 24 of us join hands in solidarity.

* * *

Darius and I are on the roof of the Training Center that night, staring morosely at the setting sun and frantic crowds below.

"There'a no way they'll cancel; they can't," I say, my expression blank, my voice dead.

"Maybe not. But that doesn't mean you can't still win, Katniss! You give so many people hope." I feel him touch my back gently. I turn to face him, staring at him. Darius only smiles gently.

He bends toward me. My expression has become blank once again, yet mixed with a curiosity that pulls me in. Our faces inch closer. My eyes droop shut, growing heavy. At last, they close completely and I let out the tiniest of gasps just before Darius kisses me full on the lips.

At first, I don't resist, deepening the kiss as I lean into Darius against the railing. But then I pull away. "No! I shouldn't have done that." Then, remembering he kissed me first, I slap him for his temerity.

We hold each other's gaze for a moment. Then, my eyes suddenly hard and full of purpose, I seize his face and crash Darius's lips back against mine. I moan in pleasure. "Hmmm..."

Darius groans along with me. His hands encircle my waist and pull me closer. When they grope lower to pet and squeeze my butt, I gallingly hook my leg up and high around his thigh. Darius hoists me up in his embrace, and I fold my limbs about his body. We spin around in each other's arms before crashing into the flower garden on the roof. Darius mounts me, and kissing feverishly, we strip each other of our clothes. I squeeze my legs about Darius as he nestles between them, and his member soon swiftly enters me, shattering my core as he takes my virginity the night before I probably will die.

"Mmmmm... UHhhh! UHHH!" I rock and moan and thrash up into him and against him. At last, I cry out as I orgasm around him. Darius follows a moment later, spilling his seed into my vagina. Kissing sensuously, we fall asleep in each other's arms.


	8. Run Away With Me

**Chapter 8: Run Away With Me**

I win the Quarter Quell, after Haymitch gives up trying to defend his title and protects me at the cost of his own life.

The Rebellion is in full swing in Panem. I retreat to District 12 to hide.

Many of my fellow Victors who were not in the Quell are killed. District 12 is firebombed. The rest of my family are all tragically killed.

I am now at a point where the only person I have left to talk to is...

Darius.

The Rebellion continues for many months, but there is no decisive victory yet. The Games for the next summer have been suspended, to focus on the war effort, and I am at least relieved for that. The Peacekeepers sent to try and enforce Twelve do not bother with me up in Victor's Village.

So, I make a plan. I will slip off into the woods and run away. There will be no Reaping this year, so I won't be missed for anything. Gale always said we could do it. And I can do it alone!

Except I don't want to. I have one person who I would not mind having with me. So, the night before I am set to steal away, I leave a note outside my redheaded friend's door:

_I am running away into the woods, Darius. I would like you to make a break with me, if you want the chance. I am leaving tomorrow night. This is me letting you know._

* * *

I dress in my old blue Reaping dress. Throw over my shoulders a cloak with a brooch. I check my gear and make sure I have all my supplies. Now I just have to leave for the fence and run off into the trees, never to return.

But when I open the door, I am stunned to see Darius before me. He is not in his uniform, but instead in a torn white shirt and some purple trousers. He has a knapsack slung over his shoulder. I cover my mouth and stare in abject astonishment.

"I'm coming with you, Katniss!" And Darius smiles as he takes his hand in mine.

I raise an eyebrow, amused. "The journey will be rough."

"I can handle it," Darius shrugs and I feel him step closer into my personal space.

"Danger everywhere."

I feel a hand go about my waist and pull me flush against him. "That too, I can handle."

"You have to do exactly what I say," I place my hands on his chest. "If I say, 'Set that snare', you say, 'How long?' If I say, 'Shoot that deer', you say, 'Medium or well-done?' If I say, 'Kiss me,' you -"

His lips crash down on mine, and I let out a choked squeak into his mouth. Followed by a purr of triumph. I part my lips for him and slip my tongue into his maw to play with his. My arms splay across his back, playing in his red hair. Darius's limbs go about my own back and waist, but he soon wanders lower, groping my ass and feeling me up. I boldly hitch a leg to his waist, raise my leg to his hips.

We have wild sex on my dining room table. And after we both come, we escape into the woods. After we are a far enough distance and I, my Peacekeeper lover and I share a passionate kiss, by the light of the moon. And Darius tells me again the story of how his father actually married the Victor Cassiope Fletch in secret. Inspired, I make a crude bonfire and we Toast the bread over it - District 12's marriage tradition. And we seal it with a kiss. Darius is now my husband.

* * *

We live in the woods like the Adam and Eve of that long ago story. We make our home in a cave miles from Twelve as Panem finally falls and becomes a democracy. Still, we do not go back.

Darius knows me and comes in to me and lies with me. He makes love to me until we conceive and bear two children: a boy and a girl.

And as I watch our family play in the meadowlands just beyond the mouth of our little cave, I appreciate how there are much worse Games to play.


End file.
